I keep thinking of the Spencer thing to determine my opinion, and my brain keeps getting derailed by musings that, my god, how big of a loser do you have to be to be unironically wearing a fancy cloisonne pepe pin.

Breaking news! Nazi leader has had all the Nazi punched out of him. "I don't know what I was thinking", he says. "Guess I'm going home to be a family man now. Sorry about the stuff, everyone!" Nearby Nazi sympathizers discarded swastika-related apparel and joined ongoing BLM march in contrite, respectful silence; multiple fellow protesters are quoted as saying "huh" and "well I'll be".

In apparent response to the event, Kansas legislature called an emergency session to repeal voter ID laws immediately, and Tennessee is expected to follow suit within the hour.

François wrote:Breaking news! Nazi leader has had all the Nazi punched out of him. "I don't know what I was thinking", he says. "Guess I'm going home to be a family man now. Sorry about the stuff, everyone!" Nearby Nazi sympathizers discarded swastika-related apparel and joined ongoing BLM march in contrite, respectful silence; multiple fellow protesters are quoted as saying "huh" and "well I'll be".

In apparent response to the event, Kansas legislature called an emergency session to repeal voter ID laws immediately, and Tennessee is expected to follow suit within the hour.

Like okay, we already know, you're going to go BUT IT DIDN'T SOLVE ANYTHING

It did solve the thing where they want to preach their hatred in public. Like, unless you want to advocate that we just lie down, spread our legs, and just "wait for it to be over" (It will never be over), punching nazis in the face is at the very least, going to punch the nazi off the street. He'll want to spend money or time getting security, throw a huge fit over being punched, and generally a bunch of things that helps shatter this little bubble they've built themselves. Even if theyd on't change, having their house knocked over very once in a while to keep them firmly in the "A lot of people don't like your fucking shit" camp will be good for these trolls.

And hey, maybe a few blows to the head will make the 8chan ones who think it's hip and edgy realize that in real life, words and ideas mean things. And sometimes that thing is, "I am going to be punched in the face if I keep saying this."

Here's more shit, "physical violence isn't part of polite society" mother fucker this asshole keeps calling for, and I fucking quote, "Peaceful Ethnic Cleansing." That phrase alone isn't part of fucking polite society, these motherfuckers make their living continuously seeing how far they can push their vile garbage under the thin veneer of "polite society." These motherfuckers are part of "polite society" only insofar as they like to do the hate speech equivalent of ding dong ditch - incite people then run into their protective shell.

I am so glad that you guys are doing this, and I want you to keep doing this, because come Monday morning I'm going to go into work and the Republic Meme Revue and Variety Hour is going to start and I need all the counterpoints and objections I can get my hands on. One guy was positively FURIOUS on Friday morning that the news kept referring to him as the "President Elect", when he hadn't been sworn in yet. It is exhausting.

It's clear from all the fallout that none of these people are actually prepared for when the world finally loses its patience and just starts attacking and killing them. All they know is that it's what they want. Trolled you good, Planet Earth!

Punching nazis in the face isn't an act of political speech and argument, it is an act of self-defense. Naziism is an existential threat, and the question shouldn't be whether the punch was okay, but whether the punch was enough.

Supposed to be the smart ones, too, but they keep falling for that “I thought you were supposed to be the tolerant ones” horseshit.

What about dialogue?

Dialogue is for reasonable people acting in good faith. Dialogue is between two acceptable positions. “Taxes need to be raised” vs. “taxes need to be lowered” is grounds for dialogue. “Taxes need to be raised” vs. “Jews should be thrown in ovens” is grounds for a beating.

But isn’t this sinking to their level?

That depends. After you punch the Nazi, do you espouse the tenets of National Socialism?

No.

Then you’re better than a Nazi.

But doesn’t this just give the other side ammunition?

The other side in this argument are lying fucks who can twist any piece of information into a swastika-shaped balloon animal if you engage them in good faith; lacking a piece of information, they’ll just make shit up. Might as well punch a Nazi.

What about peace, love, and understanding?

Great goals, and once we get rid of the Nazis we can get to work on them. All three are completely impossible when Nazis are about.

When should you punch a Nazi?

Whenever you get a chance. Preferably when they’re not looking.

What if they’re smaller than you?

Hit them with your fist.

What if they’re bigger?

Hit them with a bat.

Isn’t this a slippery slope?

After we defeated the Nazis in World War II, did we keep shooting people or did the troops come home and start having babies?

The second thing.

There you go. The slippery slope argument is nine times out of ten bullshit. Human beings are good with slippery slopes: we build stairs.

What if you think you’re punching a Nazi, but you just hit a white guy with a shitty haircut?

Run.

What should you do if you hit a Nazi?

You should run then, too. Don’t get me wrong: punching Nazis is still illegal. We’re discussing morality.

But I don’t want to punch anyone.

Then get off your duff, mister, and give aid and support to the boys on the front lines. We’re all in this together. Again.

Alright, I think I didn't get my position through correctly here, why is certainly my fault. At any rate I understand where you are and I think it's a reasonable place to be at. Punching a Nazi does address the "insufficiently punched Nazis" problem, which is real, serious, and must be addressed.

I guess if there's something that bugs me, it's that once you've decided to resort to violence, Nazis are low-risk low-reward in the grand scheme of things, like fighting slimes when you should be looking the dragonlord in the face. Still, you're right, it may not be saving the kingdom from the most dangerous evil, but someone needs to keep the slime population in check.

EDIT: I suspect the flippancy of my original reaction is due to the fact that this occured around Trump's inauguration, which made it difficult for me not to look only at the bigger picture.